Santorum On His Return To Oskaloosa
Former Senator Rick Santorum speaks before a crowd at Smokey Row on Saturday afternoon
Oskaloosa, Iowa – With the normal caravan of diesel buses and the large staff’s of advanced people that are part of many presidential candidates, Rick Santorum makes a modest entrance.
“As many of you know, we spent a little time in Osky”. Santorum and his family were guests at the Steve and Janet Boender farm, “spent a little of a week there, and got a chance to see what it was like living in Iowa.”
“Oskaloosa is near and dear to our hearts”, where the Santorum kids would make their way to Smokey Row for their morning coffee. “Look at this beautiful downtown. This lovely square that is emblematic of the beautiful small towns that we have here in Iowa.”
So something in that statement caught my attention, just as many of the other things Santorum would say along on the campaign trail, and just one of the reasons why Osky News endorses him for the Iowa Caucuses. Santorum said, “beautiful small towns that we have here in Iowa”. That to me is someone who now sees Iowa differently than many candidates that have rolled across the state.
Santorum waves to those seated inside Smokey Row as he arrived Saturday afternoon
When Santorum made his first official stop to Oskaloosa at the end of July, there was pie served by his family and just a handful of reporters, but Saturday’s visit had a much larger crowd and far more national media in tow.
Iowas first in the nation status when it comes to choosing who moves on was on Santorum’s mind, as recently he has been rising in the polls, placing third in the Registers latest poll; but would be a solid second if polling had been delayed by just two days. Momentum is on Santorums side. “Your responsibility is to lead. Your responsibility is to be first, meet the candidates, do the homework and then make the decision.”
“I think you all know our county is at a crossroads. We’re going to go either to the way of bigger government, more government control of your life, more towards state-ism. More towards European socialism which the president seems to be quite enamored with. Implementation of Obamacare and all these other big government programs. Or we’re going to elect someone who believes in American exceptionalism, and we don’t want to be like the rest of the countries of the world. Why? Because people who live in the countries want to come here, because we’re different. We’re a country that believes in our founding principles and rights; come to us from God; to each and every one of us.”
Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz (left) has been a supporter of Santorum (right) and introduced the candidate on Saturday
“This four years of Jimmy Carter”, Santorum said about President Obama’s current term as President. “This weakness overseas, dismantling of our Defense Department. No, we need bold colors. Not pale pastels.”
Santorum asked those in attendance to do what they could to support him, such as window signs or adding, “Take a bumper sticker, put it on your car. Heck it won’t even probably be sticky by 3 days later. You can tear it off pretty easily. Put a new one on next fall.” Sanoturm earned applause with his humor and hope for a continued campaign past Iowa on Tuesday.
